MIDC Distributes Initial Payments for Compliance Plan Implementation Statewide
Beginning in November 2017, Michigan’s 134 trial court systems submitted plans for compliance with the MIDC’s first standards for indigent defense delivery services. Methods of delivering indigent defense services vary greatly, but all systems are required to comply with the MIDC’s standards, which cover: training and education of counsel, the initial client interview, use of investigation and experts, and counsel at first appearance and other critical stages.
As of October 2018, every system’s plan and cost analysis for compliance with the standards was approved by the Commission. The approved plans have a total system cost of $124,644,357.52; the local contribution is $37,857,148.17; the MIDC portion of funding is $86,828,428.75. The majority of MIDC funding is for direct services, such as paying attorneys for interviews and appearing at arraignments. Nearly $10 million is dedicated to paying experts and investigators for the defense.
Pursuant to the MIDC Act, once the local indigent defense systems receive funds, they are required to comply with their plan within 180 days. Kicking-off this six-month planning phase, fifty percent of the grant will be disbursed up front so the local systems can get started on compliance right away. The remainder of the grant dollars will be available on a quarterly basis through a reporting and disbursement process. More than half of the systems statewide have received their initial grant award, infusing systems with almost $18 million to ensure that indigent defendants’ sixth amendment rights are being met. The attached charts detail the grants by region (statewide), and the money distributed to each system as of this date.